The United States Supreme Court has temporarily halted a deadline requiring the return of Kilmar Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month. Chief Justice John Roberts granted an “administrative stay” on Monday, effectively delaying the deadline imposed by a lower court, which had ordered Garcia’s return by midnight.
Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was deported on March 15 due to an administrative error. His legal team argued that the U.S. government must bring him back, as he was sent to El Salvador against legal orders. While the government has admitted the deportation was a mistake, it has cited logistical challenges, including Garcia’s detention in El Salvador, as a barrier to his return.
The Supreme Court’s temporary stay does not set a new deadline but signals that justices will swiftly review the case.
Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved promptly. “This is just a temporary administrative stay. We are confident that the Supreme Court will resolve this matter as quickly as possible,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said after the court’s decision.
Garcia, a father of three, had been living in the U.S. without legal status but had been granted temporary relief from deportation after an immigration judge found that a gang in El Salvador had threatened his life. However, following a policy shift that designated the MS-13 gang as a foreign terrorist organization, the Trump administration moved to remove him.
The Justice Department raised constitutional concerns, arguing that federal courts should not interfere with foreign diplomacy or the removal of individuals deemed a national security threat. However, Garcia’s attorneys insist that he is in El Salvador solely due to the U.S. government’s error and should be allowed to return.
“There is no dispute that Abrego Garcia is only in El Salvador because the United States sent him there,” his attorneys said, adding that Garcia is being held in El Salvador only at the U.S. government’s request. They further argued that there is no evidence to support the government’s claim that it cannot bring him back.
A lower court had previously ruled that the government must return Garcia by Monday night, but the Supreme Court’s intervention has postponed that deadline pending further review.
